When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error Contributor(s): Ofri, Danielle (Author) |
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ISBN: 0807003042 ISBN-13: 9780807003046 Publisher: Beacon Press OUR PRICE: $17.10 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 2021 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Medical | Physician & Patient - Social Science | Disease & Health Issues - Medical | Health Care Delivery |
Dewey: 610.289 |
LCCN: 2019051595 |
Physical Information: 0.9" H x 5.5" W x 8.8" (0.85 lbs) 272 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Medical mistakes are more pervasive than we think. How can we improve outcomes? An acclaimed MD's rich stories and research explore patient safety. Patients enter the medical system with faith that they will receive the best care possible, so when things go wrong, it's a profound and painful breach. Medical science has made enormous strides in decreasing mortality and suffering, but there's no doubt that treatment can also cause harm, a significant portion of which is preventable. In When We Do Harm, practicing physician and acclaimed author Danielle Ofri places the issues of medical error and patient safety front and center in our national healthcare conversation. Drawing on current research, professional experience, and extensive interviews with nurses, physicians, administrators, researchers, patients, and families, Dr. Ofri explores the diagnostic, systemic, and cognitive causes of medical error. She advocates for strategic use of concrete safety interventions such as checklists and improvements to the electronic medical record, but focuses on the full-scale cultural and cognitive shifts required to make a meaningful dent in medical error. Woven throughout the book are the powerfully human stories that Dr. Ofri is renowned for. The errors she dissects range from the hardly noticeable missteps to the harrowing medical cataclysms. While our healthcare system is--and always will be--imperfect, Dr. Ofri argues that it is possible to minimize preventable harms, and that this should be the galvanizing issue of current medical discourse. |